We're world travelers, Okay?

So school is officially back in session and I thought I would update you on my end of summer extravaganza. As I mentioned before, my friends Alyssa and Josalyn came to visit me and spend my last week at home with me! We had a BLAST and I really loved getting to show them around my stomping grounds.

Alyssa was the first to arrive! The day after she came in town we went to the DC Zoo. Alyssa loves pandas so I figured that I had to take her to one of the few places that has them. It was a long hot day but we had alot of fun!

Then the next day we went to Annapolis. Carly came with us and we just walked around downtown. We went in all of the little shops and Alyssa just ooed and awed at all of the sailor stuff around. Here we are standing on the pier. It was a nice day.


Alyssa got to experience a party, Crumback style, with food, fun and games. I don't think we scared her off too much.

THEN, Josalyn came in town and the craziness began. Alyssa and I woke up super early to go pick up Josalyn in Virginia from the airport. Then we drove back to my house, re situated all of out luggage to one suitcase and hit the road for NYC. (concrete jungle where dreams are made of!)

After getting to my Uncle's apartment, we headed to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) It was so cool and was somewhere that I had never been when I visited the city in the past.
The view was awesome and we loved snapping some cook pictures while we were there.

Alyssa lookin pretty in front of the Big Apple

Yep, This is all of us :) *note the monopod

We got to eat some of the best pizza in Manhattan and got caught in a huge rain storm, which was actually kinda fun!

Next we went home for a much needed nap to prepare us for that nights' festivities.

Here's Josalyn hailing her first ever cab ride. She loved every second of it. (Alyssa wasn't so sure about doing it so she let Josalyn handle it :)

As you can see, Josalyn was successful

Here we are riding the Staten Island Ferry. It is a free boat ride and has an awesome view of the city. Too bad it started raining and blurred the view a little. We had fun anyway. This is a glimpse of us on the ferry outside in the rain trying to keep dry (yes, we were the only one's out there. Everyone else was smart enough to go inside)

Later that night we headed to times square. I love to see it all lit up at night. We visited M&M world at ate dinner at Carmine's. We have been going there for years and this visit reminded us why we kept going back, the food was delicious!

The next day, I took the girls to see where I had worked when I was interning in NYC. I loved showing them so that they could see what I did and who I was working with. It was also really nice to visit everyone there!

Next we decided to head to Coney island and it was DEFINITELY worth it. The view of the city on the way there was awesome and it was really a nice drive. When we got there we rode the famous Coney Island roller coaster, "The Cyclone". It was probably the best roller coaster I have ever been on and was totally worth the EIGHT DOLLARS we had to pay to ride it.

Then we went to the fun park on the boardwalk to ride some more rides. Alyssa feels sick after riding too many rides so she was our designated photographer. We loved the rides, I think alyssa liked taking pictures too though.

The teacups :)

Nathan's hotdogs originated in Coney Island so naturally we HAD to eat one from the birthplace. Josalyn hates hot dogs but she got one just so she could say she ate it.

Later that day we took a long walk through Central Park. The park is one of my favorite parts of the city, It's just so pretty. We walked until we met back up with the city. Then we walked down fifth avenue and went to Rockefellar Center. It was really pretty. Next stop was SOHO. we walked around SOHO and found some I <3 style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks Uncle Jon!!

Our next destination was Washington, DC. Since we only had one day to see everything in the city we decided to take a tour mobile around everywhere.

Here we are in front of the Jefferson Memorial

One of the stops on our tour was Arlington National Cemetary. We got to see the changing of the guard by the tomb of the unknown soldier.

After the tour we went to see a show at the Kennedy Center. This s a picture from the roof. The little building in the background is the Lincoln Memorial.

After a long day in DC we went home to rest up for our long adventure the next day.

August 26th started our excursion out to Utah. Our plan was to leave on Thursday and drive to Kirtland. That part of the plan stayed the same...

We got to the temple just as the last tour ended so we didn't get to go in but it was still fun to look from the outside. We did get to go to the church owned sites though. We went to the Whitney store and got to see alot of parts of church history. None of us had ever been there before so it was alot of fun to experience it together.

After staying in Kirtland for a little while we got back on the road. The plan was to drive for a little bit longer and then stop at a hotel for the night. It was a good plan but once we started driving a little bit we decided that it might be cool to get to Provo early and surprise everyone. That was it! we decided that it would be so much fun to surprise everyone so we just kept driving, and driving......

and driving....

And DRIVING!!!

We decided to take 2 hour rotations while we were driving. While I drove, Alyssa sat in the passengers seat to keep me awake and Josalyn would sleep on the back seat. Then after two hours we would rotate and do it all again. It was harder when it was dark outside but we drove that drive like we were champs! We made great time.

Alyssa napping on the back seat with all of the luggage and snacks :)

When the sun came back up we decided that it would be a good idea to stop and get some breakfast and freshen up a little. We were in the middle of nowhere and couldn't find any breakfasty places to stop so we decided to use a walmart bathroom.....

Alyssa decided that she would feel much better if she washed her hair, so.....

SHE DID!!! Kinda sick but she was right, she felt much better. Thank goodness Josalyn had shampoo!

We changed clothes and hit the road again. We were in the home stretch. We had reached the part of the trip that we had planned to make on the third day but it was only 24 hours after we had started :)

Not feeling the picture session i guess.

In the end we MADE IT! We are back in Provo safe and sound. It was such a fun trip and I can't imagine sharing the adventure with two better people. We loved the time we had to spend together and we think everyone was pretty surprised to see us. Now back to normal life and school and such....

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to fill everyone in on our great trip!!!

GiRlS jUsT wAnNa HaVe FuN!!

So last summer I bought my first car. I love having my car and being responsible and having to pay for it (maybe I don't like that very much). But, One of the major things that is different since I got my car is how I get to and from school in Utah. Before getting my car I would just fly out to Utah and be with out a car for the whole year. Now that i have my car I get the great opportunity of driving across the whole country and having a car with me. Last summer when I went out to school my Mom and Sister went with me and we had alot of fun.

My beautiful Mom and Sister at Tory's wedding

Then coming home this summer, my Uncle and soon to be Aunt flew out and drove back with me. We had alot of fun too. We got to stop in Iowa for Bryn and Tyler's wedding reception and just really had a great time.

So that brings me up to this summer. Who am I driving with you ask? That's my FAVORITE question of the summer. On August 26th I will beginning my cross country adventure with 2 of my favorite people.....

Alyssa and Josalyn!!!!!

I have known Josalyn and Alyssa since the day I moved into my apartment my freshman year of college. We have been friends ever since.

In less than one month both of these ladies will be flying to Maryland to see me!!! Then we are going to New York and having some fun with my Uncle in the Big Apple.

Then we'll come back to Maryland and have some more fun. I'm so excited to get to show them around my home stomping grounds!

After all of our fun here in MD we will begin our big voyage to good ole Provo, Utah. We plan on stopping in Kirtland, Ohio to see some church sites. We also plan on having a BLAST spending time with each other. I CAN'T wait for them to get here!!!!!

Alyssa gets here in 24ish days

Josalyn gets here in 28 days

Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made of!

I had the great opportunity of completing a 100 hour internship with Thomas Preti Caterers in New York City. It was SOOOOO much fun! I loved every second of it. While I was there I stayed with my Uncle Jon and just had the best time. He was the best host and we had a blast. While working with TPC I was able to help with a tasting, a Sex and the City 2 party, a venue walk through, a wedding, a promotional event, and a HUGE event at Pepsi worldwide headquarters. I got to taste delicious food the whole time I was there and loved all of the people there. It was just so much fun!! Here are some pictures of some of the things I got to do while I was in the city. Enjoy!

This is where the Pepsi event was held. It was in a huge Air Conditioned tent! The theme was vegas so everything was sparkly. It was cool to see everything go up so fast.

The hot pink table cloth!

Here's a behind the scenes look at what was going on. Here they are preparing salads for 650 people. The event included a plated dinner which was served to every guest in 15 minutes! It was pretty awesome to see how everything worked! I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

While in the City we went to see Shrek 3D in IMAX. I can't remember the last time I went to and IMAX. We had alot of fun. This is me with my Uncle's roommate, Joy. She is so sweet and I had alot of fun with her while I was in Manhattan too!

Me and Uncle Jon :)

For one of the days that my Uncle and I were both off of work we took this speedboat called the BEAST. It was alot of fun. We rode around the tip of the island to the Statue of Liberty and then back. We got SOAKED with gross river water but it was still alot of fun!

Me and My Uncle Jon about to leave on the boat.

This was at the wedding that I helped with. The venue has a space on the roof where the ceremony was held and dinner was downstairs in loft. It was beautiful.

Another view of the room.

Here are a couple of people that I worked with. We attended a promotional event at the central park zoo so we took this picture for proof that we were there!

Here's the website of the company that I worked with: www.thomaspreti.com

As you can see, it was a fun-filled 3 weeks. It was a a GREAT experience that I never would have been able to get anywhere else. I am sure that I am in the right major now. I just loved every second of being there!

“I’m happy to be alive today”

A week or so ago I was in the Wendy’s drive-thru and there was a nice man working at the window. He asked me how my day was and I said “great!” Of course I responded and asked him how his day was and he said “I’m happy to be alive today!” in an eager voice. I thought that that was the coolest thing. He was just so happy to be alive. A couple weeks ago my family lost a close friend, Samantha Rankin. She was 21 and I had grown up with her my whole life. She got a rare blood disease and died unexpectedly. Her funeral was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to experience. I’ve learned though that out of every awful thing comes something great as well. After Samantha’s passing it really made me think about my life and how grateful I am to be alive today. At any moment, my life could be taken from me. I want to know that I loved every minute of my life and could eagerly say at any moment, “I’m happy to be alive today.”

Samantha Rankin, Age 21

A Day in the Life of A Researcher

So one of my jobs this summer is doing research for BYU at the Library of Congress. It is definitely a brand new experience for me. Having this job means that I have to commute into DC 2 days a week. This requires me to drive 30 minutes in traffic to my Grandma's house, then she takes me to the Metro and I ride on the Metro for 30 minutes into the heart of DC. It's actually alot of fun to experience the business part of DC instead of the tourist part that I am used to. I see all different kinds of people. Sometimes I just wish I knew where everyone was going and what their reason for riding the metro is. For some reason I am really intrigued by that.

Well the other day as I was sitting at work I got a little sidetracked and got to thinking that it might be fun for all of you to see what I get to see everyday at work. (if anyone really reads this...) So... here it goes. This is my life as a researcher.

I start my morning off by approaching this beautiful building right off of capitol hill.

Then I go into a room with a couple of these dinosaur machines.

And read through reel after reel of phone books from previous years....

While looking for information that I need I tend to come across funny things....

Then for lunch I get a great view of our nation's capitol! It's beautiful!

On my way to and from my research room I get to roam these awesome halls. I love the old architecture of the building.

My days in DC are always very long. I sometimes wonder what the heck I was thinking when I agreed to do this research. But overall, I am really grateful for the opportunity and the job for the summer. Atleast you have get a little peek at some of the highlights of my days in DC!

Hot and Cold

There is alot of hot and cold in my life right now...

Literally, the weather has gone from hot hot hot one day to very cold the next. It's weird and I don't like it. Just pick one and stick with it.

Also, Everday is hot and cold. I start the day off really glad that I am home and working and able to save money but at the same time I really really miss my friends and school in Provo. I can't decide how to feel.

I also can't decide whether to go to my family ward or to the singles ward. When I came home this summer I was sure that I was going to the singles ward. Now I'm not so sure any more. Staying in the family ward sounds so good to me too. I just keep going back and forth.

At this point in my life I just feel like the Katy Perry Song Hot and Cold, "You're hot then your cold, you're yes then you're no. You're in then you're out, your up then you're down."

I'm so used to always knowing what I want to do right away that this hot and cold business is really bothering me.

I'm sure I'm being over dramatic but that's the way I feel.

Aside from my venting, here are some pictures from the past couple of months that I never uploaded. Enjoy!

My sister is all grown up now. She went to senior prom as a junior this year.

On my drive back from Utah we stopped at a wildlife safari as a break. It was alot of fun. These are some of the animals that we saw on the safari.

During the last semester my sister came to visit me in Utah. While she was there we had a girl's night out during priesthood session. We went to comedy sportz and it was so much fun!

One ward activity that we had this semester was broom hockey. They rough up the ice rink and we get to go on in our shoes and use "brooms" to hit a foam ball. I didn't play for long but it was so funny to watch.

Here's my friend Scott being himself!

My New Goal

So I've made a goal for the summer. I want to update my blog every week. We'll see how it goes....

So just a quick update:

I just finished my 6th semester at BYU. I can now say that I am a SENIOR in college! That's a weird feeling. It seems like just yesterday I was leaving home to start my freshman year. Now I'm almost DONE!

I am home in Maryland for the summer. My Uncle Dave and his fiance Katie flew out to Utah to drive back with me. We had a blast on our trip. The weather definitely didn't cooperate with us but we made it through. As we were on our way across the country I stopped in Anamosa Iowa for my old roommate Bryn's 2nd wedding reception. She got married in December and had a reception in Utah then. Now she had one in her hometown which I was privileged enough to attend. It was fun seeing where she grew up and meeting some of the people that she has always talked about.

I've been back in Maryland for almost a week now. I took this week off and just relaxed. I needed a break after the busy semester that I have had. This summer I am working 2 jobs part time. One job is through BYU. I will be doing research for the Sociology department at the Library of Congress. That means that I get to experience taking the metro to work a couple days a week :) My second job is with the same company that I have worked with for the past couple of years. I will just be helping organize things around the office 3 days a week. I am very grateful for both of my jobs. They will help me to save money for the fall.

Also this summer, I will be doing a 3 week long internship in New York City. Since my Uncle works for a restaurant in the city he has become very familiar with a few event planning companies. He contacted one of the companies and they are allowing me to come and work in the city for 3 weeks. It will be a great learning experience and will help to build up my resume. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time!

I have a very busy summer ahead of me but that's the way I like it. I hope to still fit in some babysitting jobs every now and then! I have so much fun doing that and miss it while I am at school. I miss all my friends from school all the time while I am home. But, I am sure to keep in touch with all of them and can't wait to see them all again in the fall! I guess I'm a workin lady now.